Capacity usage improves in May

Capacity usage improves in May

ANKARA

The capacityutilization rate (CUR) in Turkey’s manufacturing industry improved on a monthly basis in May, data from the Central Bank showed on May 23.

The figure reached 76.3 percent this month, up 1.3 percentage points from April, according to the bank survey.

Among the six main industrial groups, the highest capacity usage was seen in intermediate goods with 76.3 percent while the lowest CUR was 73.4 percent for durable consumer goods.

Of more than 20 sectors, apparel manufacturers posted the highest CUR with 83.36 percent while May’s lowest capacity usage was observed among manufacturers of leather and related products, with 61.96 percent.

The bank also reported yesterday that the business confidence index declined by 6.3 percent on a monthly basis to touch 98.9 in May. That followed the 3.3 percent, 5 percent and 4.5 percent increases recorded in April, March and February.

The 100-point level on the index separates optimism from pessimism.

Only two of the business sentiment survey’s eight main subindices rose in May month-on-month, data showed.

On a related note, the Turkish Statistics Institute, TÜİK, reported yesterday that confidence in the country’s construction, services and retail trade industries declined on a monthly basis this month.

The construction sector confidence index dropped the most in the month with a 7.7 percent month-on-month decrease to 49.8 points.

The seasonally-adjusted confidence index for services was down 4.4 percent in May to 79.4 while confidence in retail trade fell 0.7 percent to 89.9.